&; generation 3

The current line of My Little Pony is referred to as "Generation Three" (G3) by collectors. This has been attributed to it being the third release of ponies, which started in 2003. The G3 line is very similar to the G1 line in construction and design, although they are smaller. For their first few years they have been almost exclusively earth ponies, but now a few Pegasus ponies and even a unicorn are also in the line. The ponies live in Ponyville in the shadow of the Celebration Castle. Until the recent release of "The Princess Promenade" (Jan.2006), there appeared to be no distinct ruler (like the G1 line), however the discovery of Spike the dragon brought a new princess to the G3 line - Princess Wysteria, but right after that she named every pony on Ponyville a princess too.

Most ponies in the G3 line have shiny or pearly bodies and matte symbols on one side, now referred to as "Cutie Marks". G3 Ponies also have a magnet in one hoof that is used to activate playset items. These magnets are fairly strong and can ruin computer equipment and TVs if prolonged contact is made. The foot where the magnet is found is marked with a small symbol, often a heart. In some early ponies, the heart and magnet were mismatched and the heart was on the wrong foot; this has since been corrected.

The first year was the "Year of Celebration", heralding the return of the My Little Pony Line. The years following have been the Friendship Ball and Butterfly Island, with the most recent being Crystal Princess, and each year has had video and DVD cartoons starring the new ponies. Packages were shaped like plastic purses with white cords at the top, and the background was of Ponyville's meadows. The early Ponies came with a shiny cord called a "Friendship Ribbon" and a small pony shaped charm that matched the pony's body color; these were phased out quite early. Until late 2005, packaging came with Pony Points that were later used for exclusive mail orders. Unlike the G1 line, the pony points had to be sent in to order; a customer could not just pay a flat fee and add points to it to lower the price. Some things you could get from the Pony Points Program were: Sunshimmer, a yellow pony with neon pink and orange hair, and one of the first jewel cutie marks. There were only two exclusive ponies, except for a plush toy that went out of stock very quickly. You could also get some posters or a Ponyville play mat for you to put your buildings on.

Single ponies were of two main types. Rainbow Ponies had hair that had three or more colors in their mane or tail. The first four were Wysteria, Sunny Daze, Sweetberry, and Rainbow Dash. Glitter ponies had one or two colors in their manes or tails, which were interlaced with iridescent tinsel. The first four were Kimono, Pinkie Pie, Minty, and Sparkleworks. Sparkleworks, Pinkie Pie, Sunny Daze and Rainbow Dash have since become the trademarks of the line, having been re-released in different poses and/or outfits at least three times each. Later in the year two new Glitter and Rainbow ponies were released, and the four were released in new poses.

While the line was simultaneously released in the US and Europe there have not been very many non-US ponies, the first one a green pony with white hair named Winter Snow. 2 Breezies (small fairy-like ponies) have been found in certain stores attached as a bonus with the ponies that came with hot air balloons. Similarly 3 extra breezies (different to the ones with the ponies) are sold in little leaf like train cars, which attach to a pony carriage.

One of the rarest G3 ponies so far was released unintentionally in 2004. A Pinkie Pie with "2003 Licensing Show" integrated into her symbol was used to promote My Little Pony at the 2003 spring Licensing Show. Only three hundred were supposed to be given out at the show alone, but due to packaging error a few were packaged as regular ponies and sold in stores. Because of this, she has quickly risen in value and can go for as much as $400. Other limited edition ponies have been the Pony Project promotional ponies and Rosey Posey, who was given to children in hospitals by Hasbro.